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Saphira
Saphira is a female dragon (or dragoness), and the loyal pet of Seifa Theirin. Her name means 'Sapphire' - an apt name considering her scales and eyes shine like sapphires. She is a Zakundi - a four legged dragon - from the Isle of Drakofel, although she was hatched in Elysium. 'General Description' Saphira is incredibly loyal to Princess Seifa and her family, though it was the Princess herself who hatched her and raised her with care, love and devotion. As a baby, she was never far from Seifa, following her around like a shadow and refusing to let the Princess out of her sight. As she grew larger, this became more and more of a problem and Saphira had to learn independance, and get used to time away from her Mistress. She also had to learn to share the responsibility of carrying the young princess with Seifa's other winged pet, Emrys the pegasus. These lessons in independance and sharing Seifa's attention have made Saphira much more tolerant and understanding. Unlike Aithusa, who can be particularly jealous and possessive over her mistress, Saphira has no problem with strangers, or anyone else vying for Seifa's attention. As long as they do not pose a threat to the Princess in any way, Saphira is inclined to let them be, viewing them as beings of little importance. In this way, she can often be seen as very vain and condescending, because as a fully grown adult, she literally looks down upon anyone and everyone. The only people she has ever been known to bow to, are Seifa and Seifa's husband, Percival. They are, in Saphira's eyes, her parents. They deserve her respect, even if they do not command it of her. It is no secret that Saphira adores Seifa completely, as she was the first person that the dragon saw after hatching. An instant bond was formed between the pair and Seifa loves Saphira as a more than just her pet. Saphira also has a close bond with her 'sibling' Aithusa, Torani's white dragon, and also the pegasus Emrys, Seifa's other animal companion who is never far from her side, either. 'Appearance' Saphira is a blue dragon with shining blue scales and wings with leather-like feathers. She has big, sapphire blue eyes, two horns, short neck spikes and tail spikes and a row of small spikes around her lower jaw. Since she is female, her body structure quickly turned out to be more feminine than other dragons, but as a baby, it remained unpronounced until she grew to her proper adult size. As a newborn, she was about the size of a small bird. E-389.jpg|As a baby, whenever she's not with Seifa, you'll often find Saphira in the stables, hunting rats and mice. Saf5.jpg|She's very curious, but at the same time very shy, and will not let strangers near her - often choosing the run to Seifa, or hide, instead of investigating, as her sister Aithusa would. V99.jpg|Saphira's blue eyes and scales are the reason for her name - Saphira meaning 'Sapphire'. After ten years, she stood at twice the size of her 'sibling' Aithusa, twice as tall as a man and her wing span was an impressive fifty metres across. She is also incredibly agile, particularly in the air, and her streamlined body allows her to reach speeds that are unmatched by any bird or other airborn creature known to man (with the exception of other dragons). Even Emrys the pegasus struggles to keep up with her, and Aithusa, having been crippled in tragic circumstances, cannot even begin to match Saphira's agilty or speed. Saphira reloaded by jamesdragon.jpg E-533.jpg|Saphira in flight E-1249.jpg E-946.jpg|After she grows too big to remain in the Palace with Seifa, Saphira spends each night in the forest beside the Palace instead. She will often hunt the rabbits and deer of the forest or - from time to time, will fly out to sea and fish instead. E-2099.jpg|Saphira in her 'armour' which was specially made for her, to protect her during battle. E-1919.jpg|Seifa scares the Wise Men of Asgoroth into heeding Seifa's warnings about the danger they are in. Saphira roar.png E-1820.jpg 'Powers and Abilities' Saphira has inherited magical powers from her Mistress, Seifa, and these powers are used through her breath. She can use it to turn rock into crystal, gift knowledge (such as visions of things she has seen or heard) and breathe fire. She was able to fly only a few weeks after hatching, even though her wings weren't fully grown and as a full grown adult, she now has immense physical strength. She can use her wings, spiked tail, talons, and teeth to great advantage in a fight, as well as breathing fire, and learned many of her skills from wrestling with Aithusa as a baby. The two baby dragons would often play with one another and learn the necessary skills for survival together. During everyday situations, Seifa takes it in turns to ride either Saphira or Emrys, but during battle, she chooses to solely ride Emrys, as she finds fighting from the Pegasus' back is much easier than sitting astride Saphira. Also, Saphira has a habit of twisting and weaving through the air, and Seifa will be the first to admit that she's not that great at staying in the saddle. Emrys is much more 'stable' in flight, which then allows her to focus more on fighting and less on clinging tightly and not falling off. In battle situations, therefore, Flynn becomes Saphira's "dragon rider". She has learnt that whenever her specialised 'armour' comes out, he will be the one to climb aboard her back. She did not like this idea at first, fearing that she was betraying her Mistress by allowing another on her back, but Seifa soon reassured her that it was alright, and it was what she wanted. After that, Saphira proudly carried Flynn and sometimes Percival into battles. Legend of the Drakoon In the far off distant land of Drakofel, the fables and horrific tales of the 'drakoon' are as infamous as the magnificent beasts themselves. The drakoon are both feared and revered, with the majority of the populace worshiping them as fire deities. The isle of Drakofel is mostly unexplored, with sailors knowing better than to venture near those ash embedded shores, with polluted waters and black sanded beaches, what is known is that the island is separated into 2 distinct regions; the mountainous Shards, which take up almost two thirds of the isle's northern coast, and the forested south known as Vallis. Both regions are home to two distinct breeds of drakoon, the Raksus, two legged bat-like monsters of the Shards, and the Zakundi, the four legged feathery beasts of the south. Though both kinds rarely come into contact, the people of Drakofel still speak of the drakoon wars of the past, where both families clashed in a battle of fire and brimstone. Their legends say that it was that war that reduced the majority of the isle to an inhabitable land of ash. The Raksus are the most feared of the drakoon, as their only desire is to burn and to feed, even resorting to cannibalism to stay alive. The Zakundi of the south are calmer by nature and considered, by those brave enough to live on Drakofel, to be beautiful creatures, that they admire but also remain wary of. To local knowledge, this gentler breed of drakoon has never slain any of its brethren to feed, but they have been spotted out at sea, diving into the waters to catch their meals. The number of the drakoon is fairly minimal in recent times, with food being scarce, some have traveled to the surrounding shores of Adrenna and Cyrofel, but always they are forced to nest back in their native soils. In the past couple of hundred years, it has become an act of bravery to kill a dragon, and so now men and women claiming themselves as Drakoon Slayers have started to roam the mountains and deepest forests looking for their prize, which has only diminished their numbers further. Ancient kings of distant lands were known to have acquired drakoon eggs, hoping to use them as a weapon of mass destruction in a bid to thwart any man-made army, but soon realized that the eggs remained cold and lifeless away from their native soil. Many believe that only a mother drakoon of Drakofel can hatch their drakoonlings....... But some know otherwise..... Category:Dragon